Photo : Julie Sueur - ORECA Racing Car Manufacturer

A few months after the first presentation of drawings, the ORECA 03 took the track for the first time this week. Tuesday and Wednesday, the new LM P2 realized his baptism at the Circuit Paul Ricard, primarily driven by Nicolas Lapierre, then by Soheil Ayari. After two days, the meter showed more than 1000 kilometres. It was therefore not a simple shakedown for the ORECA 03, powered for by a Nissan V8.

“To see a new ORECA prototype take to the track is always a very special moment,” said Hugues De Chaunac. “This was already the case with the ORECA 01 and it is the same now with the ORECA 03, which shows our growth as a constructor. This is the first car designed specially for customers running in the 24 Hours of Le Mans and Le Mans series. We were excited about it and I‟m happy to say that the first tests were very conclusive.”

On Tuesday, after beginning the morning with a systems check, the technical team began their development program of the ORECA 03 in earnest. Important work was completed on the aero package, where several different configurations were tested. At the same time, chassis settings for mechanical grip were also explored. For Wednesday, Lapierre and Ayari continued along the same vein and also took advantage of testing to fine-tune the new Michelin tires as the two men completed both short and long runs.

Lapierre, who had been the first to drive the ORECA 01, was delighted with the ORECA 03 : “It‟s a very positive first outing. On one hand, you find the same qualities that made the ORECA 01 such a strong petrol-powered competitor. On the other, you can feel that the ORECA 03 is a brand new car. The weight balance is different and this gives a very agile car. It handles very well in tight, medium and quick corners. To find such a good balance in the car‟s first laps is very good for the future.”

Ayari echoed these first impressions: “The ORECA 03 showed itself to be perfectly reliable and very well balanced. It‟s very good under braking with a front end that is particularly efficient. I didn‟t have any surprises: I‟m finding similarities with its 'bigger sister.' As for the tires, they did well and we did long stints without any problems.”

After these two days at the Castellet, David Floury offers some conclusions: “The track conditions were ideal for a first-time run,” said the Technical Director. “Without wind, we were able to play with the aero configurations which allowed us to establish a good base setup for both twisty and quick tracks. The data is positive and quite close to the simulations we did. These first indicators make us feel confident about the direction we are heading. The drivers are satisfied with the balance and with the Michelins, while the integration of the Nissan motor went very well. We've also found some interesting solutions for our next outing.”

The drivers and engineers will now debrief before returning to the track in the second half of February with the ORECA 03.

According to the release of Oreca Racing

Photo: Le Castellet, PRIVATE TEST ORECA 1st & 2nd February 2011. The new prototype designed by ORECA completed it's first laps.